I'm not affiliated at all with ghost fest; I just figured you might be interested in checking it out. I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong spot, but I figured those looking for regional haunts in Scotland might check here.

Mary King's Ghost FestWhen: 30th April 2008 Where: EdinburghEdinburgh's darkest tales and legendary paranormal activity will be revealed during a new 10 day, city-wide ghost festival. The festival is a unique opportunity to explore the supernatural side of many 'haunted sites', come along and take part in a parapsychology experiment, night vigils, workshops, talks and demonstrations on the subject. http://www.edinburghghostfest.co.uk/

If anyone has participated in this fest in the past, I'd love to hear your experiences as I'm scraping up the nerve to try it myself.

Carlotta

Who owns the land? Only the land knows. We mortals are passersby, and our lives are but a brief moment in the great span of time and space. We are born, we live out our lives, and most of us do the best we can with it, but the wind is forever, and the rivers flow forever to the sea, and all the seasons of the weathers will come and go after we are gone. But the Earth endures, the Earth is eternal" - Earl Hamner

But the only thing that worries me is that there could be a chance of overkill and people there for laugh and joke.

The dates for the fest are actually:

Friday May 9th 2008 - Sunday May 18th 2008

The date I originally quoted was from the Scottish tourism website. If the deal looks hoakey, I'll just go off and shop instead. Since I've no experience in ghost hunting, I hope that the people won't take themselves too seriously or expect me to run alone into a pitch black room.

It will be a good experience for me to hear some experienced people talk about methods, and to observe how they do things. It'll be nice to try something as part of a group, because I don't want to start off as a group of one.

I haven't bought my tickets or reserved anything yet, but it's one of a few festivals going on in Scotland when I want to visit. There's also a cool hiking and forest festival near Edinburgh that I want to do.

Carlotta

Who owns the land? Only the land knows. We mortals are passersby, and our lives are but a brief moment in the great span of time and space. We are born, we live out our lives, and most of us do the best we can with it, but the wind is forever, and the rivers flow forever to the sea, and all the seasons of the weathers will come and go after we are gone. But the Earth endures, the Earth is eternal" - Earl Hamner

I was at Mary Kings Close last year a week after the Big Event. I would encourage anyone to visit this location. It is not as commercialized as you think.

Went away with a sense of awe of what it must have been to live in the streets of Edinburgh long ago. Profound but did not sense any activity during my visit.

However, did have a sense of the aura of some of the animals that lived in the close along with the families on those narrow streets. We also spent time in the little room that the young girl who died of the plague had been locked in. Her shrine is very creepy but we did not have any experiences there.

Again, the Plague House was one of the most interesting areas. History and the idea of how death and suffering were handled in early Edinburgh.

The Close is where Mary King had lived and it is in the center of the Festival. Edinburgh has many active locations within walking distance of the Close.

But the only thing that worries me is that there could be a chance of overkill and people there for laugh and joke.

The dates for the fest are actually:

Friday May 9th 2008 - Sunday May 18th 2008

The date I originally quoted was from the Scottish tourism website. If the deal looks hoakey, I'll just go off and shop instead. Since I've no experience in ghost hunting, I hope that the people won't take themselves too seriously or expect me to run alone into a pitch black room.

It will be a good experience for me to hear some experienced people talk about methods, and to observe how they do things. It'll be nice to try something as part of a group, because I don't want to start off as a group of one.

I haven't bought my tickets or reserved anything yet, but it's one of a few festivals going on in Scotland when I want to visit. There's also a cool hiking and forest festival near Edinburgh that I want to do.

Carlotta

Thanks for the dates for the Ghost Fest, Iv'e never been to one before and as I live quite close to Edinburgh, I hope to get down there for the weekend....and NO, they won't make you run in a pitch black room lol , we Scots can be quite canny ye kin I'll take photo's to post here ,( hopefully with something spooky on them ) and a journal of the experience to post for the Villagers. xx

Life isn't about waiting for the sun.It's about learning to dance in the rain

Thanks for the dates for the Ghost Fest, Iv'e never been to one before and as I live quite close to Edinburgh, I hope to get down there for the weekend....and NO, they won't make you run in a pitch black room lol , we Scots can be quite canny ye kin I'll take photo's to post here ,( hopefully with something spooky on them ) and a journal of the experience to post for the Villagers. xx

I hope to do it myself too. I'm waiting for more information on the different activities. And I'm waiting for the extra cash to get the plane ticket and reserve the B&B.

Who owns the land? Only the land knows. We mortals are passersby, and our lives are but a brief moment in the great span of time and space. We are born, we live out our lives, and most of us do the best we can with it, but the wind is forever, and the rivers flow forever to the sea, and all the seasons of the weathers will come and go after we are gone. But the Earth endures, the Earth is eternal" - Earl Hamner